Deep well pump



l FeE.16,1932. l 11.4K. V.TOMPK1NS 1,845,453

DEEP WELL PUMP Filed Dec. 8, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet S1 W dixo/muws Feb. M5, 1932; l H. K.- v. ToMPKlNs l845,453

DEEP WELL PUMP Filed Deo. 8, 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 I HEMYbm/Uffyz s,

H. K. V. TOMPKINS DEEP WELL PUMP Feb. 16, 193,2.

Filed Deo. 8. 1930 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 am www 4Patented Feb. 16, 1932 y uNlTED STATES PATENT OFFICE HARRY K. V. TOMPKINS, OF HOUSTON, TEXAS, ASSIGNOR T GULF PRODUCTION COM- Y PANY, 0F HOUSTON, TEXAS, A CORPORATION 0F TEXAS DEEP WELL PUMP Application led December L' This invention- -relates to lmprovements 1n.

well pumps, and particularly to a single acting compound pump using a fluid or liquid or compressed air or gas as its working medium.

Primarily, the invention has for its object the provision 'of a compound positive displacement straight line pump of cylindrical form, and of a diameter small enough to permit its being placed in oil or water wells of small diameter, the exterior of the pump being free of projections or protuberances whereby it may be freely run on tubing, and, if necessary, easily recovered froml the well hole.

A further object is to deep piiovide a deep well pump wherein the ducts for supplying and exhausting the working fluid or medium are located in the annular space bore of the cylinder and the exterior surface of the cylinder. Likewise, the ducts for directing the oil or water from the bottom of the well past the pumping mechanism to the tubing through which it flows to the surface, are also located between the bore of the cylinder and the exterior peripheral surface thereof.

Another object is to provide a valve mechanism for controlling the several ducts, such valve mechanism being positively operated by the pump piston. A still further object is to provide a pump composed of moving parts capable of operating with the minimum of wear over long periods of time under the severe conditions necessarily encountered when used in deep wells. l Another object is to provide a deep well pump that can be easily introduced in a well, the pump proper being lowered into the well hole on one string of tubing and the tubing through which the working medium is supplied subsequently lowered within the first lowered tubing and automatically coupled with the supply ducts of the pump.

With these and other objects in view,the invention consists in certain details of construction and combinations and arrangements of parts, all as will hereinafter be more fully .described and the novel features thereof particularly pointed out n the appended claims.

between the ,h 1930. I seriali No. 500,927.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating a preferred embodiment of this invention,

Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of the pump, the lower extremities only of theinner and outer tubing being illustrated;

Fig. 2 is a similar view, on the line 2-2 of Fig 4, but showing only the lower end portion of thepump;

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a sectional View on the line'4-4 of Fig. 1; i

Fig. 5 is a sectional view on the line 5-5 of v 9F ig. l; fF Fig. 6-i5s a sectional view on the line 6-6 of ig. 1 v F Fig.,7 is a sectional view on the line 7-7 of Fig. 8 is a sectional view on the line 8 8 of Fig. 1; g Fig. 9 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view illustrating the valve mechanism;

Fig. 9a is a view similar to Fig. 9, but with the position of the control valve reversed;

, line 10-10 of Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 is alongitudinal sectional view on the line 11-11 of Fig. 8; and

Fig. 12 is a longitudinal sectional view of the air or -gas piston, this section being taken at right angles to Figure 1.

In the`construction illustrated, the lower end of the pump is' composed of a fluid valve cage 11,v in which there is the inlet port 65, controlled by a ball valve 12. This Huid valve cage is screwed onto the bottom end of what will be termed the combination iuid and air Fig. 10 is a transverse sectional view on the or gas cylinder 17 with a joint ring 14 between said cage and cylinder. At its upper end, the cylinder 17 is provided with a stuffing box 20, and the piston -rbd'packing gland 19 for piston rod 18. The upper end'of this cylinder 17 is screwed into the bottom end of a cylinder 23, which may be called either the air or cylinder of the pump. The upper end of this air or gas cylinder or working cylinder 23 is tapped out to admit the plugs 24, 25, and the adapterl coupling'26. The outer tubing or 100 gas cylinder or the workingat a point equi-distant the tubing through which the oil or water from the well ows to the surface is indicated at 59 this outer tubing being screwed into the adapter coupling 26. The compressed air or gas or other suitable working medium is supplied through inner tubing, this inner tubing consisting essentially of a section 27 rigidly attached to the pump proper, but with its upper end projecting into theI outer tubing 59. This pro]ecting end of pipe section 27 is formed with a ground beveled joint adapted to cooperate with the conical recess in a coupling 28 attached to the lower end of section 37 of the pipe for supplying the working medium tothe pump. -The pump pro er, including pipe section 27, is suspended rom the outer tubing 59 and is lowere into the well hole by said outer tubing when it is to be laced in operation. After the pump has t u s been positioned in the well, the remainder of the inner tubing,indicated at 37 for supplying the working medium is lowered in the outer tubing and the coupling 28 on its lower end is guided by spring fingers 28a engaging the interior of tubing 59, so as to center said coupling with respect to the pipe section 27 In other words, the outer tu ing 59 with the pump proper is first lowered and the major portion of the working medium supply -pipe may run after the pump and tubing 59 are in the well.

In the air or gas or Working cylinder, 23, from lu 24 and stuiiinof box bushing' 20, there 1s t e air or gas inlet and exhaust valve 29, held in place the valve cages 30, 30, in the air or gas ducts and 41. The gas piston 22 in cylinder 23 is provided at each end with piston rin s 21, and has its central portion cut away to orm a'longitudinally extending slot, as shown in Fig. 12, to accommodate the valve 29, which extends transversely vof the cylinder, through said slot, and formed on the side walls of the slot in said piston are wedges 31, 32, adapted to cooperate with the inclined surfaces 31a, 32a, on valve 29, at the end of each stroke of piston 22. Piston 22 also has its' outside diameter relieved for the same distance as the slot therein, tov provide an annular space for the exhaust and compression release to gain access to an opening 33 through which communication is established from the interior of the cylinder to an exthis exhaust duct 34 (Fig. 11), there is a ball check valve 63, and a retainer plug 64.

The piston 16 which may be referred to as the pumping piston inthe cylinder 17 has its outside diameter relieved between the piston rings 15 and its extremities, to provide a space for an oil seal 60.- This pumping piston 16 is connected to the operating piston 22 by the piston rod 18, extending through the packing gland and bushing at the upper be subsequently At the top of end of cylinder 17. As will be understood, the lower end of valve cage 11 is formed with a tapped hole 36 for the attachment of the usual gas anchor (not shown).

The valve cage 11 is also formed with outlet ports 54, controlledby ball check valves 13 and these outlet ports communicate with opening 55 in the joint ring 14, through which the liquid (such as oil or water) may pass to the dischar e ducts 56, whose upper ends, as shown in ig. 11, communicate with openings 57, leading to an annular space 58 around the outside of the working medium supply pipe 27. As shown in Fig. 11, this an? nular space 58 extends through theA adapter 26, and opensvinto the interior of the outer d tubing 59.

Below the control valve 29, there are ducts 45, 51, the former communicating by passage 46 with the lower end of the interior of cylinder 23 and the latter communicating by means of passage 50, with the upper end of the bore of cylinder 17. At their upper ends, these ducts 45, 51 are alternately placed in communication with supply ducts 40, 41, respectively, depending upon the vposition of valve 29 which is adapted to be reciprocated by the wedges 31, 32 on piston 22. As shown in Fig. 9, valve 29 has been moved to the left by wedge 31, and when in this position, duct 45 is in communication with duct 40, and duct 51 is in communication -with the interior of cylinder 23, by means of the by-pass 52 in valve 29. Referring to Fig. 6, 1t'will also be seen that duct 51 has a branch 49 thereto, and this branch 49 communicates with a duct 48 which extends upwardly of the pump cylinder 23 and communicates with the. upper end of the bore of said cylinder, througha passage 47.

With thepump parts positioned as shown in Fig. 1, the cycle of operations thereof will now be described. Compressed air or gas, or other working medium, is supplied through pipe sections 37, 27, to the annular opening 38 around plug 24, from which opening the working medium iiows through radial passages 39, 39, to the ducts 40 and 41. Valve 29, being in its left-hand position, soto speak, air in duct 4l can not pass said valve, but the air supplied to duct 40 will iiow past valve 29 to and through duct 45 and passage 46 into the bore .of cylinder 23, below the lower end of piston 22.` Under such circumstances, both piston 22 in the working cylinder and piston 16'in what has been termed the pumping cylinder 17, will be raised through what might be termed- 11 and oil or water, depending upon thev nature of the well, drawn up into the c ylinder 17. During this upward movement of v pistons 16 ,and 22, any gases, etc., in the upper portion of cylinder 17 will be exhausted mo I nio

through passage 50, duct '51','and by-pa'ss 52, into that portion of cylinder 23 occupied by the slotted and relieved portion of piston 22. Simultaneously, any gas, etc., above the upper end of piston 22 will be exhausted through passage 47, downwardly through duct 48, and from said duct through branch 49 into the duct 51 from which said gas, etc., will also flow through by-pass 52 along with the gas, etc., being exhausted from cylinder 17. The gas, etc., thus exhausted from above both pistons into that portion of cylinder 23 occupied by the slotted portion of piston 22, will be exhausted from said portion of cylinder 23 through the radial passage 33, I(Fig. 10) through exhaust duct 34 upwardly past the ball check valve 63, and through passage into the annular space 58 around 4the supply pipe section 27.

At the upper extremity of this upward or suction stroke'of the pistons, wedge 32 will have engaged the inclined surface 32a of valve 29 and reciprocated said valve to the position shown in Fig. 9a. With said valve in this position, the working medium supplied to duct 40 can not pass said valve, but, on the other hand, the working medium supplied to duct 41will pass-into duct 51 from which it will not'only be delivered into the upper end of cylinder 17 through the passage 50, but it will also be delivered into the upper end of cylinder 23 by means of the branch duct 49, duct 48, and the passage 47 at the top of said duct 48, it being understood` that under these conditions, duct 51 will not be in communication with the by-pass 52 in the reciprocatory valve 29. The admission of the working medium to the upper portions of the two cylinders, as thus described, will result in the pistons being moved downwardly through what might be termed their compression or discharge stroke, in that ball 58 by way of radial valves 13'will be displaced from their seats and the oil or water which is then trapped in cylinder 17, by reason of the fact that ball valve 12 is then seated, forced upwardly through the ducts 56 into the annular space passages 57, and from said passage 58 linto the outer tubing 59. During this compression or discharge stroke of the pump cylinders, the Working medium previously admitted to the lower end of cylinder 23 to effect the suction stroke, will be exhausted through passage 46, duct `45 and to the position shown in Fig..

by-pass 44 in valve 29, into-that portion of cylinder 23 occupied by the slotted and relieved portion of piston y22 from which it will flow through radial passage 33 into the discharge duct 34 and be exhausted past ball valve 63 into the annular passage 58 and outer tubing 59. Upon completion of this discharge or compression stroke, the wedge 31 on piston 22 will have engaged the inclined surface 31a on valve 29 to shift it to the left 9, undef which diameter.

thus described, will result in the pistons being moved downwardly through what might be .termed their compression or discharge stroke, in that ball valves 13 will be displaced from their seats, and the oil or water which is then trapped in cylinder 17, by reason of the fact that ball valve 12 is then seated, forced upwardly through the ducts 56 into the annular space 58 by way of radialpassages 57, and from said passage 58 `into the outertubing 59. During this compression ordischarge stroke of the pump cylinders, the working Inedium previously admitted to the lower end of cylinder 23 to effect the suction stroke, will be exhausted through passage 61, duct 45 and bypass 44 in valve 29, into that portion of cylinder 23 occupied by the slotted and relieved portion of piston 22 from which it will flow through radial passage 33 into thedischarge duct 34 and be exhausted past ball valve 63 into the annular passage 58 and outer tubing 59. Upon completion of this discharge or compression stroke, the wedge 31 on piston 22 will have engaged' on -valve 29 to shift it to the left to the position shown in Fig.'9, under which circumstances the parts will be in position to again repeatthe suction stroke.

As will be appreciated, all of the ducts for vsupplying the working medium to and exinto contact with any of that fluid so that they l are protected from the injurious elements often times present in oils and waters commonly found in deep wells. This arrangement of the ducts and the control valve, therefore, also permits the pum to be made of a minimum diameter and ree of external projections, so that it may be readily introduced into oil and water wells of comparatively small It is also, of course, advantageous to have the valve that controls the supply and exhaust of the -working medium positively actuated by the reciprocating piston.

.Another feature of the present pump is the utilization of the exhausted gases for aerating and thereby lightening the column of fluid being pumped upwardly through the outer tubing 59. haust is mechanically positive, and, with respect to the periods when the fluid end of the pump discharges into the outer tubing 59, the exhaust discharge occurs at proper times to create an automatically timed air or gas lift the inclined surface 31a The timing of the .ex.

will be layers of end of the outer tubing cycle, resulting in quantities of duid equal in volume to one displacement of the pump being discharged into the tubing and eing immediatelyfy followed by quantities of air or gas exhausted from the power end of the ump. This results in the tubing being iilled, so to speak, with alternate layers of uid and air or gas. In consequence, as these will occur in the entire length of the outer tubing from the pump at the bottom of the well to the top where the air or gas may be liberated, the result is that instead of there being a solid or continuous column of fluid against which the pump must operate, there so that the weight or pressure is very much less than would be the case if there was a solid columny of liquid in the outer tubing.

Again, by having the lowermost portion of the supply pipe, such as the section 27, entirely detached from the inner tubing proper, and carried by the pump itself, with said section projecting a considerable distance upwardly into the outer tubing, it is practically impossible for dirt, scale, or other foreign matter to be deposited in the intake side, so to speak, of the pump, where it would clog or stop up the ducts and valves .through which the working medium must flow, In other words, the outer tubing with the pump. attached thereto having been lowered into the well, when the inner string of tubing is run,

any dirt or scale knocked down into the lower will,'in practically all cases, be deposited on the upper surface of adapterA 26, and after the coupling 28 has seated on the upper beveled end of section 27, those particles of dirt, scale, etc., cannot not only enter section 27, but will be forced up out of the tubing 59 immediately upon the pump being placed in operation.

What is claimed is:

1. In a deep well pump, the combination of two alined cylinders, a piston in each cylinder, a connection between said istons, means for supplying a working me ium to one cylinder alternately at opposite ends of the piston therein and for intermittently supp ing the working medium to the other cylin er at oneA end of the piston therein, and a valve controlled port through which oil may enter the last mentioned cylinder at the opposite end of the piston therein, and a valve controlled oil discharge yport Vin said cylinder, said valve controlled ports being located within the periphery of said cylinders.

2. In a deep well pump, the combination of a working cylinder, a piston in each cylinder, a solid rod connecting said pistons, means for attaching said workin cylinder to a section of well tubing, means or-reciproca-ting said pistons in said cylinders, ducts for supplying a working medium to said'cylinders, a valve controlled oil inlet port in said pumping cylinder, valve iuid with air or gas between, l

a pumping cylinder,

controlled oil outlet ports in said pumping cylinder, and ducts communicating with said outlet port and said tubing, said ducts extending longitudinally of the cylinder between the bore therein and the exterior periplieral wallI thereof. i

3. In a deep well pump, the combination of a working cylinder, an oil cylinder, a piston in each cylinder, a solid rod connecting said pistons, ports in one cylinder whereby oil may enter and flow from said cylinder, and supply ducts between the peripheral wall and bore of the other cylinder for supplying a working medium to both of said cylinders.

4:. In a deep well pump, a pair of cylinders, a piston in each cylinder, lnlet and outlet ports for oil in one cylinder, supply and exhaust municating with the othercylinder, and a valve engaged directly by the piston in said other cylinder and movable transversel of said other cylinder by said piston for a ternately closing said supply ducts.

5. In a deep well pump, a pair of cylinders, a piston in each cylinder, inlet and outlet ports for oil in one cylinder, supply and exhaust ducts for a working medium communicating with the other cylinder, a valve extending transversely of said otherfcylinder, oppositely disposed surfaces on said valve inclined with respect to the longitudinal center of said other cylinder, and operating oppositely inclined surfaces on the piston in said other cylinder for reciprocating said valve to alternately close said supply ducts.

6. In a deep well pump, a pair of cylinders, a piston in each cylinder, inlet and outlet ports for oil in one cylinder, supply and exhaust ducts for a working medium communicating with the other cylinder, said ducts being located between the bore and the ducts for a working medium commovable transversely within said other cylinder for falternatel, closing said supply ducts, and means or reciprocating said valve.

7. In a deep well pump, a piston in each cylinder, inlet and outlet ports for oil in one cylinder, supply` and exhaust ducts for a working medium communicating `with the other cylinder, said ducts being located between the bore and the peripheral wall of said other cylinder, and a valve movable transversely within said other cylinder for supply ducts, said valve being reciprocate by the piston in said other cylinder at the end of each stroke of said piston.

8. In a deep well pump, the combination ofl an oil cylinder, a piston therein, a working cylinder, a working piston therein, said working piston having a transverse recess therein, said pistons being operatively cona pairof cylinders,

'alternately closing said inder for alternately closing said supply ducts. Y

9. In a deep Well pump, the combinatlon l of an oil cylinder, a Working cylinder, a piston in each cylinder, supply and exhaust ducts for a Working medium communicating with the Working cylinder, a duct for supplying Working medium to and exhausting said medium from one end of the oil cylinder, an oil discharge duct communicating with the oil cylinder, all of said ducts being located between the bores and the exterior peripheries of said pump cylinders, and means for intermittently closing said ducts.

10. In a deep well pump, the combination of an outer fluid tubing, a pump cylinder supported from said Huid tubing, a section of supply tubing for a Working medium vconnected to said cylinder and projecting into said fluid tubing, a second section of supply tubing for the Working medium within said fluid tubing removably supported on the first section, and a coupling on one of said sections of the supply tubing, said coupling having a yconical recess therein adapted to receive the end of the other section of said tubing to aline the two sections.

.11. In a deep Well pump, the combination of an outer fluid tubing, a pump cylinder supported from said tluid tubing, a section of suppl tubing for a working medium connected7 to said cylinder and projecting into said fluid tubing, a second section of supply tubing forthe working medium within said fluid tubing removably supported on the first section,.a coupling on said second section, said coupling having a recess therein adapted to receive the first mentioned section, and guide members on said coupling engaging'the outer tubing to center the coupling with respect to said first mentioned section.

12. In a deep Well pump, a pair of cylinders, a piston in each cylinder, a solid rod connecting said pistons,`oi1 inlet and outlet ports for one cylinder, inlet and outlet ports for a Working medium in the other cylinder, ducts forsaid oil and Working medium communicating with said ports, a member movable transversely within one of said cylinders, yvalves for said ducts carried by said member, and means for actuating said member for opening and closing said ducts.

13. In a deep well pump, apair of cylinders, a piston in each cylinder, oil inlet and outlet ports for one cylinder, inlet and outlet ports for a Working medium in the other cylinder, ducts for said oil and Working medium communicating with said ports, a member slidable transversely Within one of said cyllnders,

valves for said ducts formed on said plunger, and means on the piston in said cylinder directly engaging said member for reciprocating the same to open and close said valves.

HARRY K. V. TOMPKINS. 

